Ranking: The 10 best albums by Van Halen
10. “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”
Van Halen followed in the 1990s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, Your third album with Sammy Hagar at the top, a very strong start. The LP was published shortly before the climax of the Grungs movement. And thanks to great radio hits like “Poundcake” and “Right Now”, it was still a huge bestseller.
For the latter song there was a very clever video that showed MTV in continuous loop and presented the van Halen of a completely new generation of rock fans. If you have ever wondered about the title, take the first letter of each word. And see what results from it.
Ranking: The 10 best albums by Van Halen
9. “Van Halen II”
Van Halen II and Rocky II were published in 1979 at intervals of only three months. Both were faced with a similar problem. How can you follow a flawless debut that amazed the world? The originals were created by strangers. But the sequels were faced with the burden of enormous expectations. If you stick to the template too closely, critics will call the work as a senseless new edition. If you change it too much, you risk cheating the fans.
Van Halen did their best to push these thoughts out of their heads, and within a few weeks they created a killer album, for which they used many tracks that have been in the drawer for a few years. It is not as flawless as the first album, but “Dance The Night Away” and “Beautiful Girls” were huge hits that proved that the group was not one-album wonder.
Ranking: The 10 best albums by Van Halen
8. “Balance”
Nobody suspected at the time, but “Balance” marked the end of an era for Van Halen. It was her last album with Sammy Hagar on singing. And the last time they published a record that produced real radio hits.
The camaraderie of the early days with Hagar was over. But the band managed to complete the album and record titles such as “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Amsterdam” and “Don’t Tell Me (what love can do)”.
For the taste of some fans of the old school it was a few ballads too much, but it sold millions of times and led to a huge tour. Shortly after the end, the group dissolved completely.
Ranking: The 10 best albums by Van Halen
7. “OU812”
In 1988 people were still wondering whether David Lee Roth or Van Halen would do better three years earlier after their separation. The latter went with “5150” a very strong start. But Roth also landed a number of songs on the radio. His wild personality made him perfect for MTV. In January 1988 he released the album “Skyscraper”which contained the hits “Just Like Paradise” and “Damn Good”. Steve Vai wrote with him. It seemed as if he could become a real solo star.
Van Halen answered four months later “OU812”a sophisticated album that reached 1st place and contained the songs “Finish What Ya Started”, “Black and Blue”, “When it’s Love” and “Feel So Good”. It was finally awarded platinum four times. Roth just couldn’t keep up. In the next few years he saw his solo career crashed into dust, while Van Halen was still one of the country’s largest bands.
Ranking: The 10 best albums by Van Halen
6. “Diver down”
You can hardly blame it that they were a little exhausted when the band started working in 1982 Diver Down started. They had released an album every year since 1978 and had been on tour all the time. When the sales figures sank, she urged her label to record some cover versions that could turn into light hits. Reluctantly, they accepted “Pretty Woman” and “Dancing in the Street”, which became the first two singles of the album. The move worked. But it took two years for the next album to appear. Until then, they were determined to regulate things according to their own ideas.
5. “Women and Children First”
Van Halen was a rather established hard rock band when she was in late 1979 Women and Children First Recordings so that they felt free to produce a harder album without cover versions. The result is a killer CD with originals, the immortal classics such as “Everybody Wants some !!” And contains “and the cradle will rock”. It was the perfect start to the 1980s.
It should be noted that “everybody wants some !!” contains the largest Roth Spoken-Word insert in the van-Halen catalog. “I like the way the line runs up the back of the stockings,” he says. “I’ve always liked this kind of high heels. You know, I … no, no, no, no. Don’t take it off. Don’t take it off. Let her in, let her in. Yes, exactly, a little more to the right, a little more.” The man is a poet.
4. “1984 “
Many have forgotten that Van Halen were already relegated when they were 1984 published in the first week of the year, which was famous by George Orwell. Her last song, who was not covered by another artist and made it into the top 40, was released in 1979. The album sales decreased.
Then came 1984. It was the first mega album This turbulent yearand “Panama”, “Jump” and “Hot for Teacher” could be heard everywhere on the radio and on MTV. The album sold millions of times. Even if some of the original fans were put off by the pop melodies and the use of synthesizers. This was the highlight of Van Halen’s popularity and the last time that the original cast worked.
3. “5150 “
Not many bands survive the loss of their lead singer. In particular, such an iconic and charismatic band as David Lee Roth. Fortunately, Eddie was able to name his group Van Halen and not the David Lee Roth Project. Not long after Dave went downhill, the brothers simply brought Sammy Hagar on board, went to the 5150 studios in Studio City, California, and recorded an album that was named after the studio.
The anticipation of the project was great. And they kept what they promised. With songs like “Dreams”, “Best of Both Worlds” and “Why Can’t This Be Love”. It was one of the most smooth transitions to a new singer (outside of AC/DC) in the history of rock. And gave the band at the head of the rock world for another 10 years.
2. “Fair Warning”
In the early 1980s, most of the bands recorded an album a year without thinking about it. Not long after van Halen her tour too Women and Children First Ended, they started with the recordings for a successor.
The plate produced by Ted Templeman is a somewhat dark matter, which is emphasized by “Unchained”, “Mean Street” and “So This Is Love”. Since it was not as directly accessible as the previous plates, it sold relatively slowly. Today Van-Halen supporters see them as one of their best works.
1. “Van Halen”
Van Halen Is still one of the strongest debut in the history of rock. The first half alone reads like a greatest hits album: “Runnin ‘with the Devil”, “Eruption”, “You Really Got Me”, “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and “I’m the One”.
Then you turn the thing over and have “Jamie’s Cryin ‘” and “Atomic Punk”. The whole thing is simply explosive. Even if this were the only album that they had ever done, they would still be legends. But they are just starting.